Lung cancer in Yorkshire chrome platers, 1972-97
Tom Sorahan, J Malcolm Harrington
Institute of
Occupational Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, UK
Correspondence to: Dr T Sorahan T.M.Sorahan{at}bham.ac.uk
Accepted 30 December
2000
OBJECTIVES
To
investigate mortality from lung cancer in chrome platers, a group
exposed to chromic acid.
METHODSThe mortality
of a cohort of 1087 chrome platers (920 men, 167 women) from 54 plants
situated in the West Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, was
investigated for the period 1972-97. All subjects were employed as
chrome platers for 
3 months and all were alive on 31 May 1972. Mortality data were also available for a cohort of 1163 comparison
workers with no known occupational exposure to chrome compounds (989 men, 174 women). Information on duration of chrome work and smoking
habits collected for a cross sectional survey carried out in 1969-72
were available for 916 (84.3%) of the chrome platers; smoking habits
were available for 1004 (86.3%) comparison workers. Two analytical
approaches were used, indirect standardisation and Poisson regression.
RESULTSBased on
serial mortality rates for the general population of England and Wales,
significantly increased mortality from lung cancer was observed (obs)
in male chrome platers (obs 60, expected (exp) 32.5, standardised
mortality ratio (SMR) 185, p<0.001) but not in male comparison workers
(obs 47, exp 36.9, SMR 127). Positive trends were not shown for
duration of employment exposed to chrome, although data on working
after 1972 were not available.
CONCLUSIONSConfident
interpretation is not possible but occupational exposures to hexavalent
chromium may well have been involved in the increased mortality from
lung cancer found in this cohort of chrome platers.
Keywords: chromium plating; lung cancer
© 2000 by Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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